Sierra Ocean LLC Takes $117,000 Position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 323 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $117,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Creative Planning lifted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 227,915 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $89,142,000 after purchasing an additional 3,772 shares in the last quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. raised its holdings in Caterpillar by 16.7% during the third quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 20,594 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $8,055,000 after buying an additional 2,950 shares during the last quarter. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 3.4% in the third quarter. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,103 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,996,000 after buying an additional 170 shares in the last quarter. Goldstone Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the third quarter worth about $619,000. Finally, KFA Private Wealth Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar in the 3rd quarter worth about $304,000. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Caterpillar stock opened at $353.31 on Monday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $372.47 and its 200 day simple moving average is $372.14. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12 month low of $307.05 and a 12 month high of $418.50. The company has a market cap of $170.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.01, a PEG ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a current ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.97 by $0.17. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 58.18% and a net margin of 16.65%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 20.05 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be paid a $1.41 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 21st. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.60%. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is 25.56%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $380.09, for a total transaction of $3,800,900.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 45,182 shares in the company, valued at $17,173,226.38. This represents a 18.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Gerald Johnson acquired 100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $398.57 per share, with a total value of $39,857.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,953 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,176,977.21. This trade represents a 3.51 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on CAT shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Caterpillar from $515.00 to $490.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Bank of America decreased their price target on Caterpillar from $452.00 to $414.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on Caterpillar from $455.00 to $438.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $330.00 to $300.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $455.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $383.13.

Caterpillar Company Profile

Caterpillar Inc manufactures and sells construction and mining equipment, off-highway diesel and natural gas engines, industrial gas turbines, and diesel-electric locomotives in worldwide. Its Construction Industries segment offers asphalt pavers, compactors, road reclaimers, forestry machines, cold planers, material handlers, track-type tractors, excavators, telehandlers, motor graders, and pipelayers; compact track, wheel, track-type, backhoe, and skid steer loaders; and related parts and tools.